1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to boat fender brackets adapted for use on round pilings at boat docks for protecting a boat at a dock.
2. Description of Related Art
Dock bumper guard systems are known in the art. However, many have bumper guards that bolt directly into the dock itself thereby making the system permanent to a specific dock location. Other prior art devices, incorporate complex shock system between plates mounted to the dock side.
The most common and simplest method used by many boat owners is to purchase and bumper guards, which generally are elongate and cylindrically shaped and to tie the bumper guards to their dock posts which can be flat boards or rounded pilings. However, there are disadvantages to these types of installation. When a bumper guard is placed on a flat board, it is usually a 2.times.6 board for which the bumper guard is installed in a vertical orientation. Over time, the single bumper guard tends to want to rotate toward the edges of the board thereby subjecting the boat to possible damage if it comes in contact with the dock or post edge. When a bumper guard is placed on a rounded piling, again the bumper guard tends to rotate around the circumference of the piling thereby exposing the boat to contact with the piling or dock itself.
Known related art includes permanent installations such as that depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,760 to Hartman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,916 to Watson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,349 to McKinney, U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,953 to Matthews, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,926,904 to Erlbacher. Other known related shock absorbing systems include U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,371 to Sawaragi et al.
None of the devices in the above references solve the problem of providing a non-cumbersome, relatively light weight portable fender bracket for use with bumper guards, on dock pilings, which are useful both for commercial boats as well as for private recreational boats.